I’ve always been a fan of small beauty tweaks to create a natural beauty improvement, and I’ve always been obsessed with teeth and smile aesthetics – I believe a beautiful smile has the biggest impact on our overall appearance. So, to offer small tweaks to create a Smile Makeover is my idea of beauty heaven (plus, it just makes a lot of sense…).
Dr Sahil at the Marylebone Smile Clinic has created the ultimate mini makeover in 3 steps: Stain Blasting, Contouring and Whitening. The stain blasting and contouring is performed in-clinic and takes a maximum of 45 minutes (mine took around 15 minutes), while the whitening is finished at home over a period of 2 weeks.
For anyone nervous about going to the dentist, I urge you to have a consultation with Dr Sahil – he has an incredibly calming manner, unbelievable patience (I asked A LOT of questions) and has the sharpest eye for aesthetic detail you could wish for. If it is pain you are concerned about, the only uncomfortable part for me was the first couple of days of whitening, which was only sensitivity pain. The stain blasting is like a jet wash for the teeth; this means NO horrible scraping, and it leaves your entire mouth feeling squeaky clean and your teeth lovely and shiny. The contouring is the most impactful part of the treatment – Dr Sahil ever so gently reshapes any teeth that need smoothing or reducing and the results can be quite outstanding. Of course, this all comes after a very thorough consultation, where you discuss together with Dr Sahil, your concerns, alongside his knowledgeable opinion.
When I met with Dr Sahil, I wasn’t expecting to have any contouring done (but I wanted to hear all about it) as I was happy with my teeth and smile already, barring one chipped canine. I’d chipped the canine when I was 11 on a school trip and they are notoriously hard to repair – well, I mean, they can be repaired but a small composite tip rarely lasts any length of time – so, for all of my adult life, on my upper teeth, I’ve had 1 pointy canine and 1 blunt one! I spoke to Dr Sahil about my wish for 2 pointy top canines (which sounds a bit like a Christmas song my Nan would sing) and while he understood my feelings, he also explained to me how sharp canines are often associated with masculinity, while softer canines are seen as more feminine. It was also not necessary to have 2 perfectly matching canines to create balance – the sharp one could be softened, without losing the point all together to make the canines appear more similar to one another. I was sold! I am SO particular about my teeth, but I made the decision to contour within minutes – I knew I was in safe hands. We also decided to contour and soften the 2 lower canines, with one displaced canine requiring slightly more contouring than the other to make its displacement less noticeable.
Dr Sahil made very, very subtle changes, stopping regularly for me to check on the progress. It was unbelievably quick and I love the results! It sounds like contouring should be painful, but I promise, on a scale of 0-10 (10 being most painful) it was a zero for me.
The whitening was the worst part of the makeover for me; 2 weeks with no Tea!! I knew I was a tea addict, but I was shocked at how much I missed my cuppa(ssss) every day. You also can’t drink wine (red and white because of the sugar content), no carbonated drinks, coffee and definitely not Prosecco – this, I have just discovered, is (sadly) one of the worst drinks for dental health due to the tiny bubbles and the massive sugar content. Sad times.
I once said to my eldest daughter when she was around 9 or 10 “do you know what mummy’s favourite drink is?” Without missing a beat, she said “water, tea and Prosecco, in that order”! Correct!
You also can’t eat foods which might stain your teeth during the whitening process as your teeth are much more porous during this time i.e. curry, tomato soup etc (basically, if it can stain a white T-shirt, it can stain your teeth too). I have the willpower of a Saint (or of a very stubborn girl…) so I stuck to the rules, and after 2 long weeks I had a smile to be extra proud of! My before and after pictures are so subtle, but this is that perfect beauty treatment of “She looks well” without being able to place exactly what has been done. For me, I think this is one of the best beauty treatments you can have: fast results, maximum aesthetic impact, and with the added benefit of oral health!
I am so pleased with the results, I rewarded myself with the biggest mug of tea – which really did make smile!
The Mini Smile Makeover from £695
66 Harley St, London W1G 7HD 020 7126 8526
*For a visual on a more drastic mini smile makeover, we have also included other consenting patients before and after pictures; all images the property of Dr Sahil.